Public Speaking Lecture Notes

Public Speaking Lecture Notes Week 2

Chapter 18

Methods of Delivery

I wish you see that public speaking is a perfectly normal act, which calls for no strange, artificial methods, but only for an extension and development of that most familiar act, conversation.

~ James Albert Winans, Public Speaking

Early public speaking scholar James Albert Winans noted a speech is really just an enlarged conversation, “quite the natural thing.” Natural, does not mean unplanned and unrehearsed. Your speech “conversation,” from the quality of your voice to your facial expressions, gestures, and manner of dress, affects how your listeners respond to you. If your verbal and nonverbal cues violate audience members’ expectations, they will lose confidence in your creditability as a speaker.

Qualities of Effective Delivery

 Effective Delivery

 Effective delivery is the controlled use of voice and body to express the qualities of naturalness, enthusiasm, confidence, and directness.

 Same natural foundation as conversation, except it is more rehearsed and purposeful.

 Strive For Naturalness

 Contemporary audiences expect naturalness from a speaker

 Audiences expect speakers to be genuine . Ironically, it is only by thoroughly rehearsing the message that you gain the confidence to deliver it in a natural manner.

 Show Enthusiasm

 Enthusiasm is contagious

 When you are excited, you talk more rapidly, use more gestures, look at your listeners more frequently, use more pronounced facial expressions, stand closer to your listeners and perhaps even touch them more.

 Your enthusiasm draws the audience into your message.

. As their own enthusiasm grows, they listen more attentively

 Project a Sense of Confidence

 Speeches delivered with confidence and composure inspire the audiences’ confidence in you and in your message.

 Your focus is on ideas that you want to convey, not on memorized words and sentences and not on yourself.

 Be Direct

 You must build rapport with your listeners in order to properly communicate with your audience

 You need to show that you care about them and their reasons for listening to you.

. You can accomplish this in two ways:

 Make your message relevant to the interests and attitudes of audience members

 Demonstrate your interest and concern for them in your delivery

 Maintain eye contact

 Friendly tone of voice

 Animate your facial expressions such as smiling

 Position yourself physically close to the audience . NOTE: You don’t want to go overboard by becoming annoying or overly familiar neither do you want to appear distant, aloof or uncaring. Both extremes draw audience attention away from the message.

Select a Method Delivery

 Speaking from Manuscript

 As a rule, speaking from manuscript restricts eye contact and body movement, and may also limit expressiveness in vocal variety and quality.

 The natural, relaxed, enthusiastic, and direct qualities of delivery are all limited by this method.

 If you must read from a prepared text

. Vary the rhythm of your words.

. Become familiar enough that you can establish some eye contact.

. Use a large font and double or triple space.

. Consider using some compelling presentation aids.

 Speaking From Memory

 Speaking from memory is oratory.

 You put the entire speech, word for word, into writing and then commit it to memory.

 Memorization invites potential disaster during a speech because there is always the possibility of mental lapse or block.

 Brief Speeches such as toasts and introductions, can be well served by memorization.

 Direct quotations are best received when spoken from memory.

 Learn your speech so completely that in actual delivery you can focus on conveying enthusiasm and directness.

 Speaking Impromptu  Speaking impromptu is a type of delivery that is unpracticed, spontaneous, or improvised, and usually involves speaking on relatively short notice with little or no time to prepare.

 To succeed in delivering impromptu remarks:

. Be prepared.

. Think on your feet – and think first about your listeners.

. Listen to what others around you are saying

. Give a brief statement, if appropriate, summarizing what you’ve heard from others.

. Then state your own position, make your points and restate your position (referring to notes as needed – if you have any).

 Speaking Extemporaneously

 More speeches are delivered by extemporaneous delivery than by any other method.

 Speaking extemporaneously falls somewhere between impromptu and written or memorized delivery.

. You prepare well and practice in advance, giving full attention to all facets of the speech-content, arrangement, and delivery alike.

. You speak from an outline of key words and phrases.

. You can modify wording, rearrange your points, change examples, or omit information in keeping with the audience and the setting.

 Several possible drawbacks.

. You may become repetitive and wordy

. Fresh example come to mind so the speech takes longer than anticipated

. A glance at your speaking notes may fail to jog your memory on a point you wanted to cover.

 The remedy: practice. Chapter 19

The Voice in Delivery

Elements of vocal delivery include volume, pitch, rate, pauses, vocal variety and pronunciation articulation.

Adjust your speaking volume

 The proper volume for delivering a speech is somewhat louder than that of normal conversation.

 Depends on three factors:

. Size of the room & # of people in audience.

. Whether or not you use a microphone.

. Background noise.

 To project your voice do the following:

. Breathe deeply from your diaphragm rather than more shallowly from your vocal cords. “Start the breath with your diaphragm and let it propel your voice beyond the last row of the audience.”

Vary Your Intonation

 Pitch or range of sounds from high to low.

 Vocal Pitch is important in speechmaking, because it powerfully affects the meaning associated with spoken words. “Stop”. “Stop!”

 Intonation or pitch is what distinguishes a question from a statement.

 Pitch conveys your mood, level of enthusiasm, concern for the audience, and overall commitment to the occasion. No variety in pitch, speaking become monotonous. Adjust your Speaking Rate

 Speech rate is the most effective way to hold an audience’s attention, as well as to accurately convey meaning.

 Vary your speaking rate - the pace at which you convey speech.

. A slow rate indicates thoughtfulness, seriousness, solemnity, reverence, concern, and the like.

. A lively pace indicates excitement, adventure, happiness, enthusiasm, and so on.

 Be alert to the audience’s reaction

. This is the best way to know whether your rate of speech is too fast or too slow.

 Learn to control your speech rate by doing the following:

. Select a section of ten words from your speech

. Write out a sentence or two if you don’t already have a manuscript of your speech.

. Read the selection aloud and over and over for thirty seconds. You should be able to repeat the selection seven or eight times in thirty seconds, or about fifteen times in one minute.

. If you find yourself stating the words more than eight times in thirty seconds, slow your rate.

. If you find yourself repeating the set or words fewer than seven times in thirty seconds, increase your rate.

Use Strategic Pauses

 Vocal Fillers – “uh,” “hmm”, “you know,” “I mean,” “it’s like,” and “anyways.”

 Pauses enhance meaning by:

. Providing a type of punctuation, . Emphasizing a point,

. Drawing attention to a key thought,

. Or just allowing listeners a moment to contemplate what is being said.

. Both the speaker and the audience need pauses.

Strive for Vocal Variety

 Pitch, rate and pauses work together to create and effective delivery.

 The real key to effective vocal delivery is to vary all these elements, thereby demonstrating vocal variety.

Carefully Pronounce and Articulate Words

 Pronunciation: the correct formation of word sounds.

 Articulation: clarity of forcefulness with which the sounds are made, regardless of whether they are pronounced correctly. You can be articulating clearly but pronouncing incorrectly. It is important to pay attention to and work on both areas.

 The better your pronunciation all around, the more enhanced will be the audience’s perceptions of your competence, and the greater will be the potential impact of your speech.

 Mumbling – slurring words together.

 Lazy Speech “fer” instead of “far”, “wanna” instead of “want to,” “gonna” instead of “going to,” and “theez’er” instead of “these are.”

. If you mumble, practice speaking more loudly and with emphatic pronunciation.

. If you tend toward lazy speech, put more effort into your articulation.

. Consciously try to say each word clearly and correctly.

. Practice clear and precise enunciation of proper word sounds. Say articulation several times until it rolls off your tongue naturally. . Do the same for these words; want to, going to, Atlanta, chocolate, sophomore, California.

Chapter 20

The Body in Delivery

Other than actual spoken words, your audience receives information from your speech through two nonverbal channels – The aural and the visual.

The Aural Channel is made up of vocalizations that form and accompany spoken words. These vocalizations or paralanguage, include the qualities of volume, pitch, rate, variety and pronunciation and articulation. Paralanguage refers to how something is said, not what is said.

Visual Channel includes the speaker’s physical actions and appearance - facial expressions, gestures, general body movement, physical appearance, dress and objects held.

An audience will derive the speaker’s feelings and attitudes primarily from nonverbal cues. Only 7 percent, of the speaker’s feelings and attitudes are derived from the words they are speaking. 38% come from the speaker’s voice characteristics and 55% from facial expressions and body language.

Functions of Nonverbal Communication in Delivery

Researchers have identified several ways in which nonverbal communication works together with the verbal component of a speech.

 Clarify Verbal Messages

 The same words spoken with different body movements or different vocal emphasis convey different meanings.

 Facilitate Feedback

 Listeners use a host of body cues to communicate their pleasure or displeasure with a speech. . Head shaking

. Smiles or frowns

. Arms rigidly folded

. Friendly gazes or facing-away postures.

 Being alert to such feedback and responding to it can mean the difference between an alienated audience and one that feels recognized and respected.

 Establish Relationships between Speaker and Audience.

 Nonverbal behavior, such as how you position yourself your listeners, allows you to adjust your relationship with them, establishing a level of familiarity and closeness.

 To stimulate a sense of informality and closeness try the following:

. Move out from behind the podium and walk or stand among audience.

 Remaining at a distance from the audience, behind the speaker’s stand, for example, using a more reserved vocal quality, and speaking at a somewhat slower and consistent rate establish a more formal relationship with listeners.

 Establish Speaker Credibility

 Nonverbal communication plays a key part in the audience’s perception of your competence, trustworthiness, and character.

 Audiences are more readily persuaded by speakers who emphasize vocal variety, eye contact, nodding at listeners, standing with an open body position.

 Audience members respond more positively to speakers well dressed and attractive.

Pay Attention to Body Movement

 Animate Your Facial Expression  Universally, few behaviors are more effective for building rapport with an audience than smiling.

. A smile is a sign of mutual welcome, mutual comfort and interest and mutual good will.

 Maintain Eye Contact

 Having eye contact with the audience is one of the most, if not the most important physical actions in public speaking.

 Eye contact maintains the quality of directness.

 It lets people know they are recognized, indicates acknowledgement and respect

 It tells that audience that the speaker sees them as unique human beings.

 Scanning is when you move your gaze from one listener to another and from one section to another, pausing to gaze at one person long enough to complete a full thought before removing your gaze and shifting it to another listener.

 Use Gestures That Feel Natural

 Words alone seldom convey what we want to express. Physical gestures fill in the gaps.

 Gestures should be natural and spontaneous, arising from genuine emotions and conforming to your personality.

 Be Aware of General Body Movements

 A speakers’ posture sends a definite message to the audience.

 Listeners perceive speakers who slouch as being sloppy, unfocused, and even weak.

 Strive to stand erect, but not ramrod straight. The goal is to appear authoritative, not rigid.

 Dress Appropriately

 Even casual attire should be professional in the sense that it conveys a responsible, credible and confident image. Practice Delivery

 Practice is essential to effective delivery.

 It is uncertainty that breeds anxiety.

 Focus on Message

 Focusing on your message is likely to make your delivery more natural and more confident.

 Record the Speech (Audio and/or Video)

 This can provide you with valuable feedback

 Make notes of this that need improving or changed altogether

 Be Prepared to Revise Your Speaking Notes

 As you practice, be prepared to revise your speech as needed. Every speech needs tweaking.

 Practice Under Realistic Conditions

 Try to simulate the actual speech setting as you practice.

 Use visualization as you practice.

 Use objects in the room as imaginary audience members.

 Project your voice in their direction.

 Scan the room for eye contact.

 Practice your speech in front of at least one person.

 Time Your Speech

 As a general rule, the introduction and the conclusion should make up not more than 10 or 15 percent of your entire speech.

 We tend to speak slower when practicing a speech than when we are actually giving the speech.

. To account for or resolve this, allow yourself extra time when practicing or get your timing down so it will be the same in practice and when making the actual delivery.  Plan Ahead and Practice Often

 Expert speakers suggest practicing your speech about five times in its final form.